Des Moines' immigrant community is shaken after a Burmese-American immigrant was shot down in front of his three children on Friday.

Stephen Kim, 41, of Des Moines, was killed after an attempted robbery went wrong while he was waiting in his car for his wife, who was carpooling to meet him after work. He was killed while his three sons — all under the age of nine — were sitting in the back seat.

And the Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC) — along with Kim's former employers — is working to help his family and the Burmese community heal, said Henny Ohr, the refugee-led advocacy group's executive director.

"I think it’s unfathomable for the refugee community from Burma," Ohr said, "to come to any understanding of something this senseless."

Ohr said Kim came to America as a refugee from Burma in 2009.

He was part of the Zomi ethnic community in the Chin State, in western Myanmar, which was formerly Burma. The Zomi are an ethnic minority numbering in the millions that can be found in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. They are predominantly Christian in a predominantly Theravada Buddhist region of the world and share a language distinct from the predominantly spoken Burmese dialects in Myanmar.

After briefly living in Malaysia, Kim and his wife, who is also part of the Zomi community, came to America and gained citizenship to escape the persecution they faced as a result of their faith and ethnic identity.

Moreover, Kim came to chase the American dream.

And Ohr says Kim's death was devastating to Des Moines' Burmese community.

"It brings shock and fear to a community that came here for safety and our future," Ohr said.

Alex Phrasany, who was both Kim and his wife's manager, remembers Kim as a quiet, friendly and dedicated worker.

"He always had a smile on his face," Phrasany remembers. "He was a good man."

Phrasany says Kim's wife was on her way home from her second job, at Banana Leaf, an Asian bistro in West Des Moines operated by the same owners as Cool Basil, when the shooting happened.

"He was already at the hospital by the time she got there," he said.

According to Nang Bawmkhai, a Zomi community leader in Des Moines, Stephen's wife, Esther, has been "crying quietly and trying to keep it (to) herself but she can't do it."

Bawmkhai says the family all wishes they could see Kim's face one more time.

Phrasany said he doesn't believe the incident was a hate crime.

"He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Des Moines Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek said Sunday there's no evidence that the incident was a hate crime.

Ohr said that, before his death, Kim was working to bring his mother to America from Myanmar. He hadn't seen her in over 15 years and he wanted her to meet her grandchildren, who were born in America.

Now, Ohr says, Kim's mother's fight to get to the U.S. has new meaning.

"What’s really tragic — they called the mom to let her know, and the mom is desperate to come to the U.S. for the funeral to see her son before he’s buried," Ohr said. "We're going to see if we can get an expedited visa, and so that’s really important to the family."

As EMBARC and the Burmese community work to provide resources and help to the family, they're also feeling disheartened by the violence.

"How to process something like this when it totally undermines your sense of safety being this country — safety from that persecution," Ohr said, "when you're looking for success."